Second Hand Smoke Effects People and Pets

Posted by nedra on July 19, 2013

If you are a smoker keep a close eye on your pets for respiratory symptoms from sneezing to coughing to wheezing.

Even if you smoke outside, the smoke that lingers on your hands and clothes is extremely toxic to your pets. There have been several findings linking certain cancers and a number of respiratory issues to pets that live in a smoking household.

If you do smoke, do everything you can to boost your pets immune system. Acupressure or Acupuncture can definitely help with this also make sure your pet has a very healthy diet. If you can avoid smoking in the car with your pet, indoors or on walks that may also help to keep your pet healthy.

We all know that smoking is bad for our health, but what might surprise many pet-owners are the dangerous effects that same smoke can have on their four-legged loved ones after some time.

“There are studies that show that dogs exposed to large amounts of second-hand smoke have significant changes to their lung tissue over time,” said Heather Wilson-Robles, assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Science (CVM). “These changes range from fibrosis, or scarring of the lung tissue to precancerous and even cancerous lesions.”

A case report published in 2012 showed a cat developing a tracheal carcinoma after being exposed to large amounts of second-hand smoke in the home, and another study in 2002, published by the group at Tufts, showed that second hand smoke may double the risk of lymphoma development in cats.

For more information and some tips to keep your pup smoke free read below